Loving and being loved are necessary human needs. You may
think that’s an overly evident fact, but in today’s world of polemic ideologies
and cultural warfare, that plain truth is often forgotten, especially among
folks who work and live in the shadows. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of
Water is a beautiful reminder of humanity’s need for love and acceptance,
and he uses a “monster” to make his point.

Sally Hawkins plays Elisa Esposito, a mute janitor at a
secret government facility in the 1960s, where Col. Strickland (Michael
Shannon) is conducting tests on an amphibious man-creature (Doug Jones) they
call “The Asset” (Jones also played Abe Sapien, a similar creature in del Toro’s
Hellboy films). As Strickland conducts brutal tests on the creature,
Elisa begins to interact with him, developing basic communication through sign
language. As their relationship develops, Strickland is ordered to kill the
creature and dissect him. With a little help from a Russian spy (Michael Stuhlbarg), her coworker Zelda (Octavia
Spencer) and Giles (Richard Jenkins), her closeted neighbor, Elisa develops a
plan to rescue the creature from the lab and take him to her apartment near the
ocean until the tide is high enough to release him. As the creature stays with
Elisa, their relationship becomes even more intimate. Meanwhile Strickland is
on the war path to find and kill the creature.

The Shape of Water is a beautiful film with a simple
and profound theme about love and acceptance, especially for those who face
roadblocks in expressing those needs. Del Toro illustrates those roadblocks in
depictions of racism, homophobia and neglect of people who have disabilities.
The inhuman “creature,” is the vehicle through which Elisa and others discover
this truth.

Sally Hawkins gives a powerful performance in the lead role,
using a soulful and loud voice without uttering a single auditory word. Richard
Jenkins also delivers another great screen portrayal of a marginalized man with
kindness in his heart.

Del Toro has a knack for melding striking visual effects
into his narratives about the human (and inhuman) experience, and The Shape
of Water is no exception. It may be his best work, and it’s certainly one
of the best films of the year.

One parental caution: The Shape of Water is rated R
for good reason, containing sexuality, nudity and some graphic violence, so get
a sitter.